Islam Makhachev mocks ‘loyal hater’ Michael Chandler’s prediction for Justin Gaethje fight

Ahead of his return, UFC lightweight champion Islam Makhachev has taken aim at Michael Chandler.

The Russian has been out of action since his clash with Alexander Volkanovski in February at UFC 284. There, the two champions put on a show, going back and forth for 25 minutes. At the conclusion of the five-round contest, Islam Makhachev retained the lightweight gold by unanimous decision.

Six months after that win, the former champion has booked his return for October against Charles Oliveira. ‘Do Bronx’ previously suffered a second-round loss against Islam Makhachev last year at UFC 280. Ahead of the rematch, the winner of the lightweights has received a callout from Justin Gaethje.

‘The Highlight’ defeated Dustin Poirier in the main event of UFC 291 over the weekend, then called for a title shot. While Michael Chandler and Justin Gaethje are far from friends, the former Bellator champion does believe his former foe has a shot against Islam Makhachev. On his YouTube channel, ‘Iron Mike’ discussed the possible fight.

There, Michael Chandler stated that he would favor Justin Gaethje over both Islam Makhachev and Charles Oliveira. As the Russian noted on X, that would be bad news for ‘The Highlight’ based on recent fight predictions. On social media, the lightweight champion mocked the prediction.

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https://twitter.com/MAKHACHEVMMA/status/1687100167923830784?s=20

In fact, Islam Makhachev included previous predictions from Michael Chandler in the post. The Bellator champion has seemingly not been a believer in the champion’s title run, prompting him to be labeled a hater. While that’s debatable, the Russian still took aim at the former title challenger.

Nonetheless, this post just adds to a bad week for Michael Chandler. Over the last few days, Conor McGregor, whom he coached The Ultimate Fighter against, has been calling out Justin Gaethje. While that lightweight bout is far from official, many, including Nate Diaz, believe the former Bellator star lost the money fight for good.

What do you make of this comment? Do you want to see Islam Makhachev vs. Michael Chandler in the future?